


peachy

by liminalism



Category: TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Allergies, First Aid, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Sickfic, Taehyun-centric, lapslock!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-26
Updated: 2020-02-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:15:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22879327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liminalism/pseuds/liminalism
Summary: honestly, taehyun just wanted to try something new.[or, how kang taehyun accidentally stresses the hell out of himself and his members.]
Relationships: Choi Yeonjun & Kang Taehyun, Kang Taehyun & Everyone
Comments: 17
Kudos: 180





	peachy

**Author's Note:**

> disclaimer: i’ve played up how allergic taehyun is; he said in a vlive that he’s not too allergic to peaches, but... hehe. on a more serious note: don’t! take this fic as medical knowledge! i am not an authority on first aid, allergies, or even asthma attacks.
> 
> i have a lot more to say in the end notes, so for now, enjoy 👁

🍑

their day goes like how most of their days go, to be very honest: they wake up anywhere from a vaguely disgusting 6am (taehyun) to an equally concerning 1pm (soobin), and then head to the office to alternate between working on their vocals or dance for full chunks of time, with small breaks interspersed in between to help them recover. there are language lessons, plus taehyun and huening kai still have to actually spend time on their school work, but on the whole, taehyun thinks they manage their days pretty well. 

at the moment, they’ve just been put on break time. the members are in varying degrees of tired, from flat-out exhausted soobin-hyung catching his breath on the floor, to beomgyu-hyung who somehow still has energy to spare and is working on smoothing out the new choreography in front of the mirror while yeonjun-hyung coaches him from where he’s crouched behind him. 

their manager, lee sungseok-hyungnim, pops his head in the practice room. 

“alright -- kids, i’m going out to get you guys something to eat. anyone have any requests?” 

kai raises his hand, ready to shout his out, but sungseok-hyungnim anticipates it with a smile and a wink. “yes, kai-ya, i know yours, don’t worry.” he looks around. “so, everyone’s usuals, then?” 

everyone nods, but taehyun makes a small exclamation, remembering something. he raises his hand, catching their manager’s eye. “i saw an ad for a new ice cream flavor yesterday, can i have that please? it was peaches, i think.” 

sungseok nods, committing it to memory. “of course. alright, i’ll be right back. you kids hydrate.” soobin bleats out his thanks, and then flops back to the floor, their manager shaking his head in fond resignation as he closes the door behind him. 

virtually nothing has changed when he returns approximately thirty minutes later; everyone is still in varying degrees of sprawled and scattered all over the room. the members flock towards their manager like lost puppies to their mother as he hands out the food, but when taehyun gets to his side, sungseok shakes his head ruefully. “sorry, taehyun-ah. the flavor you wanted was already sold out. apparently it’s very popular? who knew,” he raises an eyebrow in slight confusion. 

it’s alright, really, to taehyun, it’s nothing of a big deal, but then hyungnim pulls out another item from his bag of goods. “i got you this instead? plus your usual strawberry, of course, but the peaches are here in case you really wanted to try them.” 

“you didn’t have to, hyungnim,” taehyun says, but he’s almost touched. he takes his ice cream gratefully. 

manager sungseok has been there with them from the start. they’d never discussed it in-depth before, but if he understood it correctly, lee sungseok was an assistant manager to their sunbaes for around a year before he got reassigned (or he asked to be reassigned?) to what was to be bighit’s new boy group, set to debut in early 2019. 

sungseok-nim seemed intimidating at first, and taehyun, a naturally careful person, thought it was going to take him a while to warm up to him. however, the night following his official introduction to the newly-confirmed group members, he treated them all to dinner and told them all, with the air of someone very sincere, a number of things: that he is to be their permanent manager; that he is very, very excited to work with them; that he was prepared to not just be a manager but to be a kind and warm hyungnim to all five members; and to eat to their heart’s content. 

taehyun believed all the members of his group were wary, _careful_ , in their own ways. he trusted their instinct almost as much as his, and in the end, it said a lot that all of them have warmed up to, befriended, and trusted sungseok-hyungnim in their own ways. 

the members settle down on the floor again to enjoy their snacks, resting up and recharging fully before practice starts again, and idle chatter starts up between them all. taehyun almost forgets about the pack of dried peaches lying untouched by his side, but then yeonjun-hyung pipes up and asks if he can have a taste whenever he opens the pack. taehyun shrugs; it was a gift, of course he was going to share. and share he does, all of them taking an experimental nibble before munching on the snack. 

the consensus: ehh. so-so. beomgyu-hyung likes it, which was surprising for such a picky eater as him, but the general sentiment is that fresh peaches were (probably, for taehyun, having never had them before) better. 

taehyun chases down the small bit that seems to get stuck in his throat with a quick gulp of water and finishes his ice cream. they still have some time before their choreography instructor returns. he can maybe nap a bit? he looks around at the others, seeing soobinie-hyung has the most remaining in his cup, which is just per usual. he gulps down more water, scratching at his neck idly, then stands up. 

“wake me up when ssaem returns, okay?” he tells them; beomgyu-hyung nods absently, engrossed in a conversation with yeonjun-hyung about the merits of dipping fries into the vanilla ice cream they’re both currently enjoying. for some reason, taehyun feels warmth pool in his cheeks. he shakes his head and swipes at his face, brushing the hair out of his eyes and pressing the cool condensation on the water bottle to his forehead to feel refreshed. 

“wait, actually -- taehyun-ah, can you get me some water from the fridge too?” beomgyu disengages from yeonjun to make the request. 

taehyun, feeling a bit cheeky, says “ _nop_. get it yourself.” 

beomgyu rolls his eyes, but it’s whatever; he stands to make his way to the fridge at the Come Here To Feel Like A Human corner of their practice room, lightly bumping into taehyun accidentally-on-purpose to get back at his dongsaeng for making him stand. it’s an action that’s meant to be teasing, so beomgyu definitely does not expect for taehyun to let out a small, restrained cough in response. 

“maybe you need the water, not me,” beomgyu comments carelessly. 

honestly, taehyun means to snark back, but the feeling of something being stuck in his throat still hasn’t actually let up despite gulping down water in attempts to wash it down. he’s a bit preoccupied. should he be worried about the slight scratchiness that seems to have migrated to his arm? and taehyun _definitely_ must have gotten up _wrong_ from his position on the floor _somehow_ , because there’s also a mild pulsing in his head now. vertigo? he’s never experienced it before, but this must be what it feels like? 

when he coughs again, air catching wrong in his throat, beomgyu actually turns around to reach a hand and pat at his back, a soft “taehyun-ah?” finding its way out of his mouth, which taehyun waves away. it’s almost okay, until it’s really not. whatever’s stuck in his throat is still there, restricting the intakes of air he needs to get to satisfy his body’s urge to cough. taehyun needs to get it out one way or another, so he tries to slow get his coughing under control so he can breathe easier, but it doesn’t really help. 

he doesn’t want to bother anyone, though. they all need rest. “i’m fine, hyung,” he tells his hyung, projecting reassuring, and his voice is only a bit shaky in contrast to how _weird_ he’s feeling all of a sudden. he thinks he can tough the sudden headache and quickly tightening _squeezy_ feeling in his chest out, so he turns away from the curious looks from the rest of the members, meerkat-peeking at them now that their interests have been piqued. “something’s just stuck in my throat.” 

despite his efforts to keep trying to hide his coughs, though, he can see in the corner of his vision that yeonjun-hyung is still looking at him in concern, ready to jump in and give a helping hand in case one of his members is having trouble of absolutely any kind. 

all that _yeonjun_ sees, however, is his dongsaeng red and sweaty, disproportionate to the fact that they’re currently on break. sheesh, they haven’t even started yet! “taehyun-ah, really, are you okay?”

“i’m fine, hyung, just -- let me just --” taehyun turns around to cough, hoping it would be for the last time, but he forces it out too much that he ends up retching. 

“whoa, taehyun-ah, take it easy.” beomgyu finally walks over, alarmed at the way his dongsaeng is starting to look. he seems too affected by a bit of food going down the wrong track. taehyun pulls at his collar and flaps at the material of his shirt, trying to cool himself down. he feels the heat on his cheeks rise, spread to his face, his neck; when had it gotten so hot? he presses his palms to his cheeks, and the relief of his own cool skin is a balm to the heat on his face and the pressure in his head, but it’s short-lived. 

“yah, taehyun-ah, just cough it out? do you need more water?” 

beomgyu starts patting taehyun lightly on the back, intent on helping his dongsaeng dislodge (presumably, with the way taehyun is coughing) the offending piece of food, or realigning the water down the right pipe, but it doesn’t help, not one bit: the slight force from beomgyu’s hand only serves to make the feeling of a vice squeezing his chest worsen, making it even more difficult to breathe. 

taehyun whimpers, chokes on air he can’t seem to inhale. beomgyu’s eyes widen in shock. that was a highly concerning sound to come out of anyone’s mouth. “taehyun-ah? are you okay?” 

at this point, taehyun has a moment of clarity. he thinks he knows what’s happening -- he’s having an allergic reaction. he’s had them before, as he was growing up, and over time he’s gotten better at minimizing accidents, but experience doesn’t make things less scary. it’s so many things all at once -- his head feels fit to burst, his body is overheated and he’s sweating like crazy, he can’t feel his face, and most of all, _he can’t breathe_. it registers in a distantly numbing way how with each wheezing inhale, he gets less and less air than before, his body instinctively commanding him to cough and cough, almost to the point of throwing up, but he _can’t_ , and it’s absolutely terrifying. he grips at beomgyu’s arm, hard, and manages to croak out one word: “ _bag_.” 

by that time, the rest of the members have all gathered around, in similar states of alarmed and confused. 

“beomgyu-yah, what’s --” 

“hyung, i don’t know, he said bag --” 

“ _bag_? wait, taehyun-ah, can’t you talk?” 

taehyun can only flap his hand in response, hoping to convey his sense of _urgency_ , if not outright panic. he’s still holding on tight to beomgyu’s arm as he tries to suck in one full breath after another through a windpipe that seemed to be rapidly closing. 

it’s kai who figures it out first, fear in his voice: “ _hyungs_ , he’s having an allergic reaction, we need his bag now, call 911, _quick!_ ” before getting up and sprinting in the direction of the locker rooms himself, moving as fast as he can. this is definitely one of the few moments when he has criticism for their company; why were the locker rooms so far away from where their trainees and artists usually spent their time? he hears someone running after him, _soobin-hyung_ , cursing at his phone and moving equally quickly to go down a different corridor to get to an adult who can help them. shit, they need to move _fast_. 

back in the practice room, yeonjun curses out loud, moving at lightning speed when taehyun’s legs give out and he collapses where he stands. his breaths are as shallow as they’ve ever been, and it sounds absolutely painful. on top of that, yeonjun can see the red, blotchy areas splattered across taehyun’s arms, throat, even his face -- definitely an allergic reaction, there was no doubt about it now. alarms blare so loudly in yeonjun’s head that it’s almost hard to think. 

“ _fuck_ , okay, beomgyu-yah, move over a bit --” 

yeonjun takes taehyun’s other hand, holding his shoulder to steady him before he falls to the floor completely. beomgyu squeaks in fear, but stays by taehyun’s side. 

taehyun, miraculously, is still conscious, and his eyes are wide and dripping. his free hand is still clawing weakly at his shirt and collar, leaning slumped and heavy against yeonjun, and his eyes are locked with beomgyu’s. somehow, beomgyu gets the message, and goes to remove the offending piece of oversized clothing as gently and as quickly as he can, which he then uses to wipe the sweat off taehyun’s red, blotchy face. yeonjun is still holding most, if not all, of taehyun’s weight, trying to push back the panic as he listens to his dongsaeng’s deteriorating wheezes, and he’s wracking his head about emergency procedures for easier breathing in cases like this, until -- 

“i think -- hyung, i think he needs to lie flat on his back, i read it in a first-aid book somewhere…” beomgyu’s words trigger yeonjun’s memory, suddenly remembering the moment in his own childhood when a cousin of his had an allergic reaction as severe and as sudden as this at her own birthday party. her parents had indeed guided her gently down on her back as her siblings scrambled to retrieve her epipen. 

grateful to have something to hold onto and execute, they spring into action. “alright, we need to do this as carefully as possible. i’ll get his torso, you move his legs, bend them by the knees, okay?” 

they try to move as coordinated as they can under the stress and panic, but just a few slightly easier squeaky inhales later, taehyun’s eyes bug out even more, and suddenly there’s no sound at all. yeonjun sees, with a numbing kind of fear, that taehyun’s lips are starting to turn blue. his hands are very cold. beside him, he thinks beomgyu starts to cry, but yeonjun can’t focus on anything besides getting taehyun to stay conscious fuckfuckfuck -- 

“taehyun-ah? taehyun-ah, baby, _baby_ , don’t pass out, _don’t pass out_ , okay? kai’s gonna be here soon with your epipen, soobin went to call for help, okay, _stay here_ with us, me and your beomgyu-hyung, okay? taehyun-ah?” 

he’s slapping taehyun’s face lightly, trying to keep his dongsaeng present with them, and he can see the monumental effort taehyun is expending to keep his eyes from rolling back into darkness completely, and yeonjun is so, so proud and so, _so scared_ … he doesn’t even register he’s crying until he sees the tears splash down on taehyun’s cheeks, looking into taehyun’s hazy, half-closed eyes, and even then, he can’t find it in himself to care. he remembers the science tidbit that humans can survive a week without food, three days without water, and only three minutes without air. how long has it been? definitely _more_ than a minute. he strokes his dongsaeng’s face, trying to be reassuring and firm. _fuck, taehyun, don’t d_ \-- 

the door slams open and kai is sprinting to their side, eyes blazing. he wastes no time falling to his knees, taking the cap off from the pen and immediately plunging the needle deep into taehyun’s thigh. he holds the pen in place for a few, long seconds, waiting for the medication to get into taehyun’s system, before removing it, taking over yeonjun and beomgyu for the moment. eventually, taehyun’s breathing actually sounds functional, and some of the color returns to his lips. 

tears are flowing freely down his face, and he’s so sweaty and weak and looks absolutely exhausted, but taehyun is breathing _again_. yeonjun and beomgyu haven’t stopped crying. all three of them keep constant physical contact like they’re the ones that need it: stroking taehyun’s hand, his leg, his hair and face, kai murmuring words of comfort and encouragement to his friend; efforts to keep him conscious, but also to keep _them_ grounded. 

the door to the room slams open again, and soobin zooms inside, pale and panicky, sunseok-hyungnim at his heels. when their leader sees three of his members huddled around the still, reposing body of his fourth he lets out a cry and falls to his knees by his members’ sides. “is he -- is he --” 

“hyung, he’s okay, taehyunie’s okay,” beomgyu rushes to assure him, now suddenly calmer in the presence of someone more scared than him. “look, he’s conscious. just tired, we think. kai got his epipen in time. he stopped breathing for a while, but --” 

“what do you mean, _stopped breathing?_ ” the rest of soobin’s scared outburst and beomgyu’s words are cut short by their manager. 

“the paramedics will arrive in five minutes. can you explain what happened? taehyunie stopped breathing? soobin here said he had an allergic reaction.” 

“yeah,” yeonjun says croakily, looking up from where he was sitting on the floor. he glances towards the mess of snacks and paper cups scattered in a loose circle where they were all just seated at a few minuets ago. there was a packet that seemed more foreboding than most. “i think it was the peaches.” 

at this, sungseok pales too. “but he was the one who…” 

yeonjun grimaces. “yeah.” 

“sorry,” taehyun whispers, voice small and rough. they all turn towards him. he’d been watching, trying to get control of his breathing again, and he needed to get this out. “‘m sorry. never had them before. wanted to try.” 

yeonjun laughs, sound a bit broken. “there’s absolutely no need? you almost died, oh my god. your lips were turning blue.” 

soobin makes a noise of horror beside him, and if it weren’t for how weak taehyun looked from where he was lying, there was no doubt in anyone’s minds that their leader would already be draped all over their youngest. “i had no idea allergic reactions could be that bad.” 

“one of my sisters is allergic to mangoes,” kai offers. “we found out when we were on vacation when i was, like. ten, i think? or eleven? it was the scariest moment for all of us, but thank god my dad included an epipen in our first aid kit.” he clears his throat, a bit embarrassed at having even their manager’s full attention on him. “i was the one who offered her the mango,” he continues, voice getting subdued. “we were eating it for dessert in our hotel room, and suddenly she was all red and wheezing. that’s how i knew what was happening with taehyun.” 

beomgyu, who had taken to rubbing both soobin and taehyun’s arms in comforting strokes, leans over and catches kai in the tightest side-hug he’d ever given the youngest. “no offense to your sister, but i’ve never been so grateful she’s allergic to mangoes,” he says, voice fervent and muffled into kai’s shoulder. kai laughs, still a bit muted but genuine. 

sungseok had been sitting back and keeping an eye on taehyun, expression troubled, but a buzz from his phone has him getting up and squatting nearer to where taehyun was lying down. “the paramedics are here. they’re asking if we need a stretcher, or a wheelchair. taehyun-ah, do you think you can sit up…?” 

taehyun takes a moment to consider, and then shakes his head. he’s still overwhelmingly dizzy, body completely wiped out from such an exhausting, terrifying ordeal. sungseok nods, quick and unfazed, and relays the information down the call. a minute later, the door opens for a third time, and the paramedics come to transfer taehyun to the wheelchair they brought up in place of a stretcher. one of them shoos everyone but sungseok, the only obviously-an-adult figure in the room, but at yeonjun’s insistence, she allows him to stay behind too. 

🍑

everything after that happens too fast for any real conversation to happen. beomgyu hands taehyun's tshirt, which had remained clutched tight in his fist, to the paramedic, and she puts it back on him. taehyun is loaded inside the ambulance, still slouched heavily in his wheelchair. it's a whirlwind, but yeonjun trusts soobin to get back to his senses now that he’s automatically the eldest in the room. he’s their chosen leader for a reason, and just before the doors to the ambulance close shut, he catches a glimpse of soobin’s expression -- determined, newly acquired leader mode firmly on -- as he gathers beomgyu and huening kai with a comforting arm around their shoulders. they’ll be fine. 

the ambulance starts moving, and taehyun can’t help the little whimper that escapes his mouth when the wheels beneath hit a speed bump and they lurch. yeonjun’s full attention is on his dongsaeng immediately, fussing with the safety straps clicked across taehyun’s chest like a paramedic and their manager aren’t there in the space with them, but there’s really no helping the slight lurches. 

“sorry, baby,” yeonjun mumbles, feeling faintly sick at exactly how bad taehyun seems to be feeling and the fact that all he can do is hold his hand and technically just Be With Him. what kind of hyung is he? 

taehyun doesn’t bat an eye at the unusual term of endearment, just smiles underneath the red blotches on his face. “nah, it’s alright. sorry, i know we’ll get to the er soon.” he looks around, still a bit hazy around the edges. he’s only now registering the paramedic monitoring him, and sungseok-hyungnim looking stony and anywhere but at him and yeonjun-hyung. he looks at yeonjun-hyung then, and sees how miserable with worry he is. 

“hyung, i’ll be fine. i’m allergic to things, i think you know that. i have an epipen and everything.” taehyun pauses. “i’ve just never gotten a reaction that bad before, i think.” 

yeonjun swallows. “yeah. yeah, i know. i’m still just. trying to recover from how quickly things went to sh-- hell.” he glances at sungseok-hyungnim for a reaction to the near-slip, but their manager is still not looking at them. “you -- you stopped breathing. for a few seconds. your lips were actually going blue.” 

yeonjun-hyung looks haunted. taehyun tightens his grip on his hyung’s hand. “i’m sorry for making you worry.” 

“i -- hh.” yeonjun can only huff in response. “the way you’re apologizing,” he mutters in disbelief. “that was the scariest thing to ever happen in my entire life. just never do that again.” 

“yes, hyung,” taehyun’s voice is soft. “sorry again.” 

yeonjun-hyung’s laugh sounds a bit broken, still, but alright, it’s a laugh. then something in his voice hardens. “well, when we get you back home, we’ll be having a talk about this, okay.” there was no question in his tone. only then does sungseok-hyungnim start to thaw. 

“oh, absolutely,” he says, low. “include me in the group circle discussion when it happens, okay?” 

yeonjun cracks a smile. “yes, hyungnim.” he turns to taehyun again. “ah, you know what, taehyun-ah? apologize to sungseok-hyungnim, look, he’s still so worried.” 

taehyun smiles, wider when their manager visibly gets flustered at the acknowledgment. “ai, our hyungnim… i’m so sorry for making you worry like that.” 

in the corner of his eye, he sees even the paramedic get amusement out of the situation. sungseok-hyungnim, built like a very imposing stereotypical bouncer, going very very soft towards this random teenager who had a very very bad allergic reaction, and a random barely-legal boy acting for all the world like the teenager’s birth parent and holding his hand like he was on the brink of death. what a sight they must make, in this cramped ambulance. 

sungseok-hyungnim rubs an embarrassed hand over the back of his neck. “aish. don’t make it weird. i’ll just treat you guys again to dinner, now stop this.” yeonjun snorts. his phone buzzes. 

“oh, it’s soobinie.” to taehyun’s own amusement, yeonjun-hyung doesn’t let go of taehyun’s hand as he types a reply. “no, soobin-ah, we’re not yet at the emergency room… taehyunie’s much better though… hyungnim promised us dinner… there. send.” he grins at their manager, eyes crinkling at the edges. “now there’s no backing out.” 

sungseok rolls his eyes and scoffs, but the softening of his posture tells both boys what they already knew anyway. 

🍑

it’s extremely late when yeonjun and taehyun are dropped off home by sungseok, the manager leaving only after much reassurance from the eldest hyung that he and his members can handle the rest. much to both of the adults’ chagrin, yeonjun had to carry taehyun inside their dorm. taehyun had been dropping on and off into sleep on the way home, and even in the process of being checked and cleared by the doctor taehyun was already having trouble staying awake. taehyun had almost collapsed in exhaustion getting off the taxi, legs giving out, and he would have faceplanted if yeonjun hadn’t gone out first and managed to catch him. taehyun himself hadn’t even apologized, too drained to do anything but hold off passing out in yeonjun’s arms as he was carried bridal-style into their dorm. 

needless to say, soobin, beomgyu, and kai are all still up, camping out in a nest of bed sheets and a spare matress they’d set up in the living room, and at the sound of their front door opening had rushed to welcome their members home. soobin’s heart stutters in his chest at the sight that meets his eyes -- IS TAEHYUNIE OKAY, his brain blares -- but before he can say anything, yeonjun rushes to reassure him -- _them_ , actually, cutting off beomgyu’s surprised yell and kai’s horrified gasp. 

“he’s fine, he’s okay, just very, very tired,” yeonjun informs them in hushed tones, obviously not wanting to disturb the dozing boy in his arms too much. “help me get him to his bed, though, my arms are about to give up.” 

taehyun lets out a snuffle. “‘m i too heavy f’r you, hyung,” he quips, words slurring together. 

yeonjun guffaws, even as he shifts half of taehyun’s body weight to soobin’s waiting arms. “this kid. are you kidding? you’re as light as a _stick_.” the two of them shuffle awkwardly towards the the room where all of them slept, beomgyu hurrying to open the door for them wide. 

yeonjun doesn’t think to ask, but the three other members had obviously discussed where taehyunie was going to sleep when they came back. soobin seemed to have given up his bottom bunk bed for the time being, guessing (correctly) that getting taehyun up on his usual top bunk was not advisable. likely it was kai who rearranged the blankets, pillows, and cushions on what was now taehyunie’s bed to be as fluffy and comfortable as possible, even propping his most precious plushie up on the bed and wait for taehyun to wrap his arms around it. 

taehyun doesn’t even open his eyes, snuggling into the pillows immediately, but he manages to prise his eyelids apart a bit when he hears yeonjun-hyung call his name softly. “taehyun-ah… can you stay up for just a little bit more?” 

it’s a testament to how bad he feels, and yeonjun-hyung must know it: the tears that spring up in his eyes and the whine that escapes his mouth are as involuntary as they are absolutely necessary to convey how very much he does not want to be conscious anymore. 

yeonjun crouches down, putting himself at eye level with his dongsaeng. “okay, okay, i understand. you can go to sleep now, but soobinie-hyung and i will have to use a wet towel on you, okay? we need to freshen you up, baby,” he says as gently and as soothingly as possible. 

yeonjun hears soobin walk out briskly, presumably to bring a basin of warm water and a soft face towel. beomgyu, too, had wordlessly started rummaging in taehyun’s part of their shared closet space to get his most comfortable sleep clothes. yeonjun had been dreading this all throughout the drive home, but there’s really no getting around it: they just can’t let their dongsaeng sleep in the clothes he’d gone to the hospital in. 

taehyun whimpers again, quieter this time, but he settles into the warm comfort of yeonjun’s touch when he sweeps his hand across his forehead and into his scalp. kai, who’d been silent this whole time, takes the chance to climb as gently as possible into taehyun’s bed, ready to help taehyun get cleaned up and into clean clothes, and then cuddle his friend after the whole ordeal is over. “thanks, ningning,” yeonjun tells him in a low voice. kai hears the exhaustion in his hyung’s voice. 

soobin re-enters the room, walking carefully to taehyun’s bed so as not to spill the warm water sloshing in the small basin he’s holding. beomgyu also joins them, handing yeonjun the softest face towel he could find in all of their drawers. 

“taehyun-ah, baby, you can keep sleeping, okay? we’re just gonna have to sit you up and get you into clean clothes,” yeonjun murmurs. taehyun, still semi-conscious, hums an agreement, and yeonjun lifts him as gently as possible from where he’s knelt on the floor, kai immediately taking his cue to sit behind him and prop taehyun up so he continue sleeping. 

he and soobin work as quickly as possible to slip the grimy practice clothes taehyun had put on at the start of the day, with beomgyu soaking and squeezing the face towel to swipe it very gently over taehyun’s face, neck, chest, and back. this is the most they can do in semblance of an actual bath or shower, and it will have to do until tomorrow when they’re all recovered, taehyun most especially. 

the four boys work efficiently and in mostly-silence, bar for the occasional gentle direction from yeonjun on what to do next, and the small sounds that come from the mostly-asleep taehyun. 

“and… there. we’re all done, baby, you were so good,” yeonjun whispers as he and soobin tuck both him and kai under the covers. “ningning, you can take it from here?” 

kai smiles at him in response. “yes, hyung. we’re good. right, taehyun-ah?” this he directs to the boy cuddle up to him, arm wrapped snugly around kai’s waist. “see, he’s already gone.” 

“i’ll clean this up,” beomgyu offers, referring to the basin full of now-cool water and the soaked face towel. he shuffles to gently ruffle taehyun’s hair before moving to stand up. “good night, maknaes.” he collects the basin and towel. 

“i’ll be sleeping here tonight, by the way,” he says matter-of-factly, but there’s a faint dusting of red on his cheeks: the truth is he’d started sleeping in the other walk-in closet because being with four boys day in and day out up until bedtime had began to feel grating to him, but he figures this is a special enough occasion to warrant gracing them with his presence again. 

also (and… more truthfully). it’s only been a couple of weeks, but. he does miss them. not like beomgyu will ever say that out loud. 

soobin, because he knows how beomgyu’s mind works, snorts, but doesn’t say anything, even when beomgyu shoots him a sour look (he looks like he knows that soobin _knows_ how he’s been feeling lately) and hurries out of the room out of embarrassment. he stands up to follow beomgyu out, intending to get the mattress and sheets they had left out in their living room to fix beomgyu’s sleeping space. and… well. come to think of it, soobin doesn’t really want to be the only one on a top bunk, way above where the rest of his members were. “hyung.” 

yeonjun himself is still actually by taehyun’s bed, legs sprawled on the floor. he drags both hands over his face, scrubbing viciously. “guh. i need to wash up too. ‘m too tired.” he looks up at soobinie. “yes?” 

“want me to wipe you all over with a towel too?” soobin quips, laughing when yeonjun groans and flops on the floor spread-eagle in response. 

“i’m so tired i might actually just take you up on that, you know. are you gonna follow up on it?” he asks the ceiling. 

“no. now go wash up.” 

“i’m your _hyung_. and i am also seriously considering dragging myself to the bathroom at this point.” 

“suit yourself. _anyway_ what i wanted to say was. kai and taehyunie got my bed, right, kai-yah?”

kai throws a thumbs up and a small “mm” into the air from where he’s pressed against the wall in the shadow of the upper bunk, taehyunie still an unconscious limpet around him. 

yeonjun startles a bit on the floor. he’d thought kai had fallen asleep by now, too. 

“and obviously you have your bed. and since beomgyu’s gonna be on the floor, that means all of you are gonna be down here. but,” soobinie continues briskly. “i don’t want to be on the top level all by myself.” 

yeonjun waits for more, but soobin doesn’t continue. 

“this is painful,” kai mutters into taehyun's hair. “he’s so awkward.” taehyunie breathes against him in response, deeply asleep. 

yeonjun drags himself back up to a sitting position. “uh huh? soobinie my brain is literally running on ten percent right now you can’t expect me to process anything past ‘shower’ and ‘sleep’.” 

“...valid. okay, that’s all i actually wanted to say. a declaration that i don’t want to be all alone on the top level because i am very soft for you guys right now. now go clean up and change your clothes, hyung, i’m gonna go help beomgyu make a bed here.” soobin-hyung says this all with the straightest face seen to mankind, and kai for one, who had dragged himself up a little bit to bear witness to the growing embarrassed blush on their leader’s face, is delighted. he can enjoy this moment for himself, as a little treat. he knows yeonjunie-hyung is too tired right now to appreciate it. 

after soobin scuttles out of the room, embarrassed and much like how beomgyu did before him, yeonjun does actually crawl towards the bathroom, pressing a kiss into taehyun’s hair. in the time it takes for him to shower, wash his face haphazardly, and throw on the house clothes (he thinks) beomgyu left out for him in the bathroom sink, the lights in their room have been switched off, and soobin and beomgyu had indeed relocated the nest he’d seen in the living room into their bedroom. 

yeonjun throws caution to the wind and decides to flop first and apologize later onto the mattress; beomgyu almost yells when he gets elbowed in the process by their hyung, but he manages to keep it in. he doesn’t want to be responsible for waking taehyun up, thanks very much. 

“sorry,” yeonjun mumbles into the comforter. “tired.” 

“it’s alright. you were cool today, hyung,” beomgyu says, voice fervent and sincere. 

yeonjun grunts in response. “talk tomorrow. ‘m at 1%. love you guys. night.” 

soobin’s shoulder shakes in silent giggles, and the three of them are such a tangle of limbs that both yeonjun and beomgyu feel it. “love you guys too. sleep well,” his deep voice curling away into the air around them.

kai whispers “good night” in a hushed voice at the same time as beomgyu’s own “love you”, and then there’s nothing to it but the quiet noises of the night. eventually, all of them drift off to sleep, five boys with thoughts and limbs tangled around and with each other’s. 

in the morning, it’s kai who will wake up first and detach himself from taehyun’s (now unfortunately uncomfortably hot, sweaty) cuddle. he’ll try to fix breakfast, or at least make tea, for when his hyungs wake up, but beomgyu-hyung will wake up before he can decide on what kind of tea would be best on the morning after the kind of day that they had yesterday, and before long all of them are up. 

taehyun will be the second-to-last to wake up, soobinie-hyung still managing to beat him by waking up around noon, and their leader will call a meeting when he’s up and they’ve all been fed. it’s a day off for them, kai choosing to be absent from school today and taehyun himself obviously excused, but sungseok-hyung still picks them up after lunch and drives them to the office for a much-needed debriefing about What The Hell happened the day before. 

by the end of the meeting, all the people in the room will be educated on first aid procedures to allergic reactions (and, upon learning beomgyu had had childhood asthma, on asthma attacks too). 

they will discuss, talk about, and process the events that transpired, and yeonjun will get choked up and cry, which will set beomgyu off, and taehyun will hug them both very, very tightly and apologize in a thick voice; soobin will look at the ceiling and successfully stave off his own tears, and kai will attempt to do aegyo to cheer everyone up. it will work, because beomgyu will throw his handkerchief at kai and accidentally hit taehyun in the process, and they will all burst out laughing, with their manager fondly watching the scenes unfold before him. 

honestly, taehyun thinks privately, that was one of his top suckiest moments in life. but as he gets dogpiled and hair-ruffled by all four of his members, he thinks he still got pretty lucky. 

🍑

**Author's Note:**

> clenches fists. i love taehyun. i want more fics where he gets called baby. 
> 
> this is very self-indulgent! the characterizations and thought processes presented here are not meant to be taken for how the real life members of txt may think and act, as i don’t actually know them personally. _also_ Apologies to the concepts of Point Of View, Narration, and also Tenses. i literally just said fuck it and switched between all five member’s povs at random. a good way of trying to find out from which member we’re seeing things from is by noting what suffixes/honorifics (“-ah/-yah”, “-ie”, “-hyung”, etc ) are attached to the other members’ names. 
> 
> notes:
> 
>   * [vlive](https://www.vlive.tv/video/131788?channelCode=BA18A3) where taehyun says he’s allergic to peaches, iirc 
>   * lee sungseok is a real employee at bighit. his name was listed in [this](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EK83PzFUwAEBM0I?format=jpg&name=small) under "management" + when i looked his name up, he showed up in a bunch of past bangtan thanks to.
>   * i tried to be as accurate as possible to random info + context txt have given over time (usually on weverse), but i took some creative liberties! such as one of hyuka's sisters being allergic to mangoes + the layout of bighit's bldg
>   * lastly: as i said, i am in no way an authority or nor do i have experience with allergic reactions and first aid procedures regarding allergic reactions. all i say here is based off rough googling + played up for my own, ah, self-indulgences. in short, i learned taehyun was allergic to some things and ran away with it aha
> 

> 
> feel free to leave comments and kudos! i'm also on twt and cc <3
> 
> twitter: [@yeonjunsugas](https://www.twitter.com/yeonjunsugas) | curiouscat: [coffeeyoongi](https://www.curiouscat.me/coffeeyoongi)


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